Jesus told us who he was and didn’t mention his ethnicity. Fortunately, there are some noisy church attendees who aren’t afraid to use racism to speak with boldness about things the Bible doesn’t tell us.

On easter, a guy in a robe who stands behind a pulpit said, “Jesus was a brown-skinned man from northeast Africa. Not European. Not American. Not whitewashed to fit your preference.” In case you’re not good with geography, this quote helpfully explains that Africa is not Europe or America. The color of Jesus skin doesn’t seem to be of major importance to any New Testament author.

When Jesus talked about where he was from, he didn’t say Africa. He said, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world” (John 8:23). In case you’re not good with geography, “not of this world” is not Europe, America, or Africa.

Easter is an opportunity to celebrate the one earthly place that Jesus came from that truly mattered — the grave. Jesus came back from the land of the dead. None of the eyewitnesses noted his skin color and said, “Lo, his skin was a shade of brown, not like that of a European or an American since America did not exist.”

What the eyewitnesses noted was that he was alive. That detail distracted them so much that nobody followed up with questions about his complexion.

Kudos to you guys in robes for finally bringing Jesus’ pigmentation into the conversation. The word of God omitted it entirely so it’s not prioritized in many church congregations.

If unbiblical doctrine is ever going to get preached, we need people (preferably in robes) to stand behind pulpits and proclaim it. Simply reading the scripture won’t make anyone a racist. The church needs to hear messages of bigotry from people who claim authority or it will never become the model of racism that the world needs.

For centuries the church has stubbornly insisted on organizing ourselves around a resurrected savior rather than a demographic. The world has been dividing people by appearance for a long time without our help. Teachers like this one are helping the church start pulling its weight.

(Colossians 3:11) Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.